Bible Verses about John the Baptist
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Compiled by The BibleStudyTools Staff
on 05/28/2026
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For John baptized withwater, but in a few days you will be baptized withthe Holy Spirit.”
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beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
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You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—
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Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized withwater, but you will be baptized withthe Holy Spirit.’
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Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.
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As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’
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Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.
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He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.
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He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
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While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
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and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
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So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.
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Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
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On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
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When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
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There were about twelve men in all.
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A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
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There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
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He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.
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He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
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(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”)
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Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
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He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
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They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
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Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
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John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”
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Now the Pharisees who had been sent
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questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
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“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.
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He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
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This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
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This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
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I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
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Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.
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And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
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I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
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The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.
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When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
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When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
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After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.
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Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized.
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(This was before John was put in prison.)
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An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.
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They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
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To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.
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You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’
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The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
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He must become greater; I must become less.”
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Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—
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although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
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So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
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There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
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“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.
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Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.
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John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
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“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.
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Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed,
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and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.”
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And in that place many believed in Jesus.
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In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
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Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
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But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
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Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
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he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
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And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
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Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
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When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
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But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.
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He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
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for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
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He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
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And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
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Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
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The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
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And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
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Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
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When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
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When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
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After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
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“The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
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At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
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where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.
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When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
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In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
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But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
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Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
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When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
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Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
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On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
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but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
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They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
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Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
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He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”
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Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
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All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
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Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
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His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
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“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
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He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
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(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
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salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—
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to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant,
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the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
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to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear
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in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
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And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
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to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
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because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
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to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
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And the child grew and became strong in spirit ; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
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In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene—
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during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
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He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
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As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
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Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
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And all people will see God’s salvation.’ ”
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John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
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Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
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The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
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“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
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John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
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Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
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“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
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Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
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The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.
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John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
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And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
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But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done,
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Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
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When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened
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and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
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They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
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Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?
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But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
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John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them,
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he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
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When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ”
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At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind.
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So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyare cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
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Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
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After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
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If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
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But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
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This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
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I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
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(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.
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But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
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Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?
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They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’
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For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
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Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,
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others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
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But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.
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Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
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They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
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One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
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One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.
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“Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”
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He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me:
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John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
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They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’
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But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
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So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”
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Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
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“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
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“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.
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He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
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The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,
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as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” —
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“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
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And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
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The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
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John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
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And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
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I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
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At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
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Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
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And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
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After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
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Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
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Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.
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But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
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King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
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Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
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But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
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For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.
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For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
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So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,
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because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled ; yet he liked to listen to him.
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Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
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When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”
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And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
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She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
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At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
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The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.
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So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,
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and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
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On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
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They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
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And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
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Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?
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But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”
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They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him.
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“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”
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Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
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John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”
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They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
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But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
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So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
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In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
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and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
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This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ”
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John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
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People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.
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Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
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But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
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Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
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And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
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The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
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“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
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Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
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But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
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Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
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As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
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And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
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When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee.
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Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
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Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
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When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples
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to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
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Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
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The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyare cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
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Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
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As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
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If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces.
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Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
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This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’
11
Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
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From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,and violent people have been raiding it.
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For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
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And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
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Whoever has ears, let them hear.
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“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
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“ ‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
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For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
1
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,
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and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
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Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
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for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
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Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
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On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much
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that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.
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Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
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The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted
10
and had John beheaded in the prison.
11
His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.
12
John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
13
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
10
The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
11
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.
12
But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
13
Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
23
Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24
Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
25
John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
26
But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27
So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29
“ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”“The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
32
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.